Chicken butt issue

[Bellagrl]

As @Wyorp Rock has said, she needs attention right now. It's okay to keep her up past her bedtime to get this seen to.

First, you need to give her a soak in warm Epsom salt water and clean her up. Then take another photo without all the poop garnish so we can assess the situation. Also, immediately give her a calcium supplement. It can be people calcium tablets, calcium citrate, gluconate, or even Tums or other calcium antacid. This will strengthen her contractions. It's why she may have a prolapse. She's trying to push the obstruction out and she's straining.

A hen gets into this predicament usually when she has an egg stuck inside her. The egg may have collapsed and that presents another set of problems. I just recently went through this with an elderly hen of mine. She had an egg collapse, and she had a prolapse, too. It took her eighteen days for it to resolve.

The blockage usually blocks the cecum where cecal poop is produced. Besides making cecal poop, the cecum is here excess fluids get reabsorbed into the body. When there's a blockage, all the excess fluid is expelled, resulting in the white watery deposits on the butt feathers. But it's also dehydrating your hen so she has an even harder time pushing the egg out.

Give the calcium and plenty of water to drink. She will be thirsty. You won't need to force her to drink. After the bath, use witch hazel to further clean the prolapse if she indeed has this. Try to push it in, but if she squawks in pain, stop. I like to use cortisone cream instead of Preparation H. But if that's all you have, use it. Or you can use antibiotic ointment or even Vaseline.

Keep her away from the other chickens. They will peck her bloody and then you'll have a real mess on your hands. She may resolve this by morning, or it could take days. Give a calcium tablet each day until she passes the blockage. The prolapse will retract on its own as soon as the blockage clears.

Keep her clean. You may need to wash her butt very gently twice a day until this resolves.

I washed her off, gave her the calcium and water, pushed it in with cortisone and bag balm, that's all I have, she was fine with me pushing it in but she keeps pushing it back out. Should I keep trying to push it back in? Thanks for the detailed information

 

[azygous]

Can you post a pic now that you have it cleaned?

Prolapses don't want to stay in, so you do not need to stand around pushing it back in. Where do you have her now? I usually rig up a dog crate with a thick bath towel in it to soak up all the fluid that's dripping from the hen. This also protects her from the other chickens and makes it easier to check on her.

You'll want to check on her every hour or so to see if she's passed the egg. You can push the prolapse back inside when you check on her. Being young, it may not take her long. We need to know what state the egg is in when it's finally expelled. This is because she may require an antibiotic if the egg has collapsed. If it's whole, no problem.

 

[azygous]

@azygous, what do you recommend washing with? Could a person use a little Dawn dish soap or do you recommend something else?

When I clean a very poopy butt, I use baby shampoo and warm water. But plain warm water will do. Witch hazel is great stuff, cheap, and it's astringent and soothing at the same time. It's great for spot cleaning the poopy prolapse.

 

[Bellagrl]

Can you post a pic now that you have it cleaned?

Prolapses don't want to stay in, so you do not need to stand around pushing it back in. Where do you have her now? I usually rig up a dog crate with a thick bath towel in it to soak up all the fluid that's dripping from the hen. This also protects her from the other chickens and makes it easier to check on her.

You'll want to check on her every hour or so to see if she's passed the egg. You can push the prolapse back inside when you check on her. Being young, it may not take her long. We need to know what state the egg is in when it's finally expelled. This is because she may require an antibiotic if the egg has collapsed. If it's whole, no problem.

Unfortunately I'm at work all day today, she's in a separate crate from the others and I'm getting her a better container after work.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

When I clean a very poopy butt, I use baby shampoo and warm water. But plain warm water will do. Witch hazel is great stuff, cheap, and it's astringent and soothing at the same time. It's great for spot cleaning the poopy prolapse.

Thank you.

 

[Bellagrl]

Can you post a pic now that you have it cleaned?

Prolapses don't want to stay in, so you do not need to stand around pushing it back in. Where do you have her now? I usually rig up a dog crate with a thick bath towel in it to soak up all the fluid that's dripping from the hen. This also protects her from the other chickens and makes it easier to check on her.

You'll want to check on her every hour or so to see if she's passed the egg. You can push the prolapse back inside when you check on her. Being young, it may not take her long. We need to know what state the egg is in when it's finally expelled. This is because she may require an antibiotic if the egg has collapsed. If it's whole, no problem.

I keep trying to clean it but it's so dried on I can't seem to get it off

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

I keep trying to clean it but it's so dried on I can't seem to get it off

You can just cut the feathers if you need to. They will grow back. Just be careful not to cut the skin.

 

[azygous]

You don't need to do a perfect job. Just flush away most of the buildup from below the vent, and use witch hazel or Vetericyn on a soft tissue to dab away most of the stuff on the prolapse. Be very, very careful of the prolapse. That tissue is extraordinarily fragile and you can easily damage it. Keep some form of lubrication on the prolapse as we previously discussed, and continue the calcium.

Patience. This can take some days to resolve, but it will resolve.